Alan Shearer argues with Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards over ‘improved England’
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Alan Shearer claimed England were ‘not much better’ after their quarter-final win over Switzerland on Saturday.
The former Newcastle striker had a row with both Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards over whether they were progressing in the tournament.
Asked by Gary Lineker ahead of tonight’s semi-final between Spain and France what his reflections were on England’s performance, Shearer said: ‘I think it was their best performance. They have improved.
But not as much as they [Ferdinand and Richards] say. I think they could still step it up a notch or two.
‘But what they do have in abundance is team spirit and the art of winning matches. That is worth gold.’
Shearer, left, had a row with both Ferdinand and Richards over England’s progress in the tournament
Responding to Shearer, Richards argued: ‘Was it a perfect performance? No, it wasn’t, but did we see players in the right positions, yes we did. And England pushed up the pitch, so for me that was a positive.
Ferdinand added: ‘When you think that this was a team that struggled in the beginning but now they have improved, let’s take a moment to reflect on that.’